WARREN 
The  Small  Mammals  of  Colorado 


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The 

Small  Mammals  of  Colorado 


By 

EDWARD  ROYAL  WARREN,  S.  B. 


ILLUSTRATED 


Published  by 
THE  COLORADO  MOUNTAIN  CLUB 

June,  1921 

George  H.  Harvey,  Jr President 

3120  West  Twenty-third  Avenue,  Denver. 

George  C.  Barnard Vice  President 

615  Seventeenth  Street,  Denver. 

Katharine   Bruderlin    Secretary 

1276  Emerson  Street,  Denver. 

William  L.  Myatt Treasurer 

3053  West  Twenty-ninth  Avenue,  Denver. 

Publication  No.  7  Price:  25  Cents 


\twaan  asun 

LThe 

Small  Mammals  of  Colorado^ 


By 

EDWARD  ROYAL  WARREN,  S.  B. 


ILLUSTRATED 


Publii-hrd  by 

THE  COLORADO  MOUNTAIN  CLUB 

June,  1921 

George  H.  Harvey,  Jr President 

8120  West  Twenty-third  Avenue,  Denver. 

George  C.  Barnard Vice  President 

01")  Seventeenth  Street,  Denver. 

Katharine   Bruderlin    Secretary 

127(5  Emerson  Street,  Denver. 

William  L.  Myatt Treasurer 

3053  West  Twenty-ninth  Avenue,  Denver. 

Publication  No.  7  Price:  25  Cents 


COPYRIGHT,    1921. 

BY  THE 
COLORADO    MOUNTAIN    CLUB. 


INTROD 


THIS  bulletin  on  the  small  mammals  of  Colorado  omits  all  mention  of 
the  tree  squirrels,  ground  squirrels,  chipmunks,  and  gophers,  which 
were  excellently  treated  by  Mr.  Robert  Rockwell  in  his  bulletin  on  those 
animals.  The  present  paper  aims  to  give  some  mention  of  our  smaller 
mammals,  though  it  has  been  a  little  difficult  at  times  to  tell  where  to 
draw  the  line,  and  what  to  include  and  what  to  omit.  Many  of  these  ani- 
mals are  but  little  known  to  the  casual  observer,  largely  because  of  the 
nocturnal  habits  of  the  majority  of  the  species,  and  the  retiring  habits  of 
others.  When  one  becomes  acquainted  with  them  and  their  ways  he  finds 
them  very  interesting,  and  their  life  histories  well  worth  studying.  In 
fact  there  is  still  much  to  be  learned  about  many  of  them. 

Since  the  writer's  "The  Mammals  of  Colorado"  was  published,  some 
ten  years  ago,  a  number  of  the  genera  of  North  American  mammals  have 
been  studied  by  specialists,  with  the  result  that  some  species  and  sub- 
species have  been  added  to  and  others  dropped  from  our  local  list,  and 
some  of  the  scientific  names  have  been  changed.  While  not  making  the 
latter  especially  prominent  in  the  text,  they  have  invariably  been  given, 
for  they  are  a  more  positive  identification  of  the  species  than  any  English 
or  vernacular  names.  No  detailed  descriptions  of  any  of  the  species  are 
included,  only  a  general  idea  of  the  color  and  size  is  given.  The  total 
length  is  from  the  end  of  the  nose  to  the  end  of  the  tail,  measured  in  a 
straight  line  when  the  animal  is  stretched  out,  and  the  tail  is  measured 
from  the  root  to  the  tip. 

I  have  omitted  all  mention  of  the  bats,  although  a  considerable  number 
of  species  is  found  in  the  State.  These  belong  to  so  many  different  genera 
that  a  general  description  of  the  animals  would  be  very  unsatisfactory,  and 
a  detailed  account  is  somewhat  beyond  the  scope  of  this  paper. 

For  interesting  and  authoritative  accounts  of  the  habits  of  many  of 
our  small  mammals  I  would  refer  my  readers  to  "The  Wild  Animals  of 
North  America,"  by  E.  W.  Nelson,  Chief  of  the  U.  S.  Biological  Survey, 
published  by  the  National  Geographic  Society.  Mr.  Nelson's  opportunities 
of  observing  the  habits  of  many  of  our  species  have  been  remarkable,  and 
he  has  made  much  use  of  the  work  of  other  naturalists. 

In  giving  scientific  names,  when  the  name  of  a  genus  is  repeated  it  is 
not  given  in  full  but  abbreviated  to  the  initial  letter;  likewise  in  the  case 
of  repetition  of  specific  names. 

Unless  otherwise  mentioned,  the  illustrations  are  from  my  own  photo- 
graphs. Nos.  1,  2,  3,  4,  6,  7,  8,  10,  11,  13,  14,  15,  16,  18  and  20  were 
originally  published  in  the  "Mammals  of  Colorado"  and  are  printed  from 
the  cuts  used  in  that  book.  For  several  of  the  illustrations  which  have  not 
hitherto  been  published,  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  Mr. 
Charles  Mace,  Mr.  Clark  Blickensderfer,  Mr.  Albert  Haanstad,  and  the 
Colorado  Agricultural  College  through  Mr.  W.  L.  Burnett. 

The  pictures  will  doubtless  be  of  as  much  use  as  the  text  In  showing 
what  the  animals  are  like.  E.  R.  W. 


— 3 — 


The  Small  Mammals  of  Colorado 


MOLES  AND  SHREWS. 

Our  single  species  of  mole  is  confined  to  the  northeastern  portion  of 
Colorado,  indeed  the  only  record  of  which  I  have  knowledge  is  from  Wray. 
This  species  is  the  Northern  Plains  Mole,  Scalopus  aquaticus  caryi.  In 
"The  Mammals  of  Colorado"  it  is  called  the  Large-nosed  or  Western 
Silvery  Mole.  Both  moles  and  shrews  belong  to  the  order  Insectivora,  the 
members  of  which  depend  largely  upon  insects  and  similar  forms  of  ani- 
mal life  for  their  subsistence. 

Of  exclusively  underground  habits,  moles  are  rarely  seen  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  though  they  make  their  presence  known  by  the  mounds 
of  earth  which  they  throw  up  from  their  tunnels.  These  tunnels  are  made 
in  their  search  for  food,  which  consists  of  earthworms  and  grubs.  The 
forelegs  are  short,  with  wide,  naked  hands,  the  palms  being  turned  out- 
ward, and  forming  splendid  instruments  for  digging.  The  velvety  fur 
almost  hides  the  eye.  This  fur  is  brown,  with  grayish  shades,  lighter 
below,  appearing  dull  or  bright  and  silvery  according  as  the  light  strikes 
the  hair.  Moleskins  are  used  as  fur,  being  very  soft  and  warm,  though  it 
takes  many  to  make  a  garment. 

The  small  animals  known  as  Shrews  are  often  confused  with  mice,  to 
which  they  are  not  at  all  nearly  related,  belonging,  as  previously  stated, 
to  the  Insectivora,  while  mice  are  rodents,  or  gnawers.  Four  of  our  Colo- 
rado species  are  tiny  brown  animals  about  four  inches  long,  of  which  the 
tail  comprises  somewhat  less  than  half.  They  live  about  the  damp  meadows 
in  the  mountains,  along  the  streams,  and  also  among  the  dead  logs  and 
underbrush  in  the  timber,  and  range  to  timberline,  and  even  to  the  summit 
of  Pikes  Peak.  They  make  much  use  of  meadow  mice  runways,  and  are 
often  captured  in  traps  set  in  such  places.  Voracious  little  animals,  with 
sharp  teeth  and  savage  dispositions,  they  have  no  hesitation  in  attacking 
prey  as  large  as  themselves.  If  two  are  confined  together  one  usually  kills 
and  eats  the  other,  and  they  are  said  to  occasionally  kill  mice..  The  eyes 


No.  1.     Dusky  Shrew,  Sorex  obsenruH;  photographed  from  a  dead  specimen. 
—5— 


are  very  small,  and  doubtless  the  sight  is  poor  and  the  animal  much  de- 
pendent on  the  flexible,  sensitive  snout  to  aid  it  in  its  activities.  Shrews 
are  about  both  by  day  and  by  night. 

The  four  species  of  small  shrews  in  Colorado  are  the  Masked  Shrew, 
Sorex  personatus,  Dobson's  Shrew,  Sorex  vagrans  dobsonl,  Dusky  Shrew, 
Sorex  obscurus,  and  the  Dwarf  Shrew,  Sorex  tenellus  nanus. 

Besides  these  small  shrews  there  is  a  larger  species,  the  Water  Shrew, 
Neosorox  navigator,  about  the  size  of  our  common  deer  mice.  It  is  a  hand- 
some little  animal,  with  close,  soft,  glossy  fur  of  a  plumbeous  color,  mixed 
with  hoary  above  and  silvery  white  below.  It  is  found  along  the  moun- 
tain streams,  more  especially  at  the  higher  altitudes,  ranging  from  7,000 
to  over  10,000  feet.  Its  food  habits  are  much  the  same  as  those  of  the 
small  species. 

RING-TAIL. 

The  Ring-Tail,  known  to  the  Mexicans  as  "Cacomixtle",  and  also 
called  "Civet  Cat",  a  name  to  which  it  has  exactly  as  much  right  as  the 
Spotted  Skunk  has — which  is  none  at  all— is  an  inhabitant  of  the  lower 
portions  of  southwestern  Colorado,  and  has  been  taken  as  high  as  6,800 
feet,  though  its  usual  range  is  no  doubt  much  lower  than  that.  It  is  a 
pretty  little  animal,  about  29  inches  long,  the  tail  being  about  half  of  the 
total  length.  Buff  mixed  with  black  is  the  body  color,  and  the  tail  is  ringed 
alternately  with  black  and  white  and  has  a  white  tip. 

Really  closely  allied  to  the  raccoon,  it  is  like  that  animal  in  being  a 
somewhat  indiscriminate  feeder,  eating  j»ats,  mice,  and  other  small  mam- 
mals, birds,  insects,  and  at  times  fruits  and  berries.  It  is  strictly  nocturnal. 
Miners  and  others  sometimes  make  pets  of  these  animals,  and  find  them 
very  interesting.  The  scientific  name  is  Bassariscus  astutus. 

MARTEN. 

The  Pine  or  Rocky  Mountain  Marten,  Martes  caurina  origenes,  is  con- 
fined to  the  heavy  spruce  timber  of  the  highest  mountains  and  is  rather 
rare,  being  irregularly  distributed  through  its  range.  It  leads  to  a  great 
extent  an  arboreal  life,  being  as  much  at  home  in  a  tree  as  a  squirrel.  It 
is  a  handsome  animal  with  its  brown  coat  and  fine  soft  fur,  which  always 
brings  a  good  price.  The  throat  is  yellow  and  orange  from  the  chin  to 
between  the  forelegs,  this  varying  much  in  different  individuals.  Like 
other  weasels,  it  lives  on  rats,  mice,  squirrels  and  birds.  The  young  are 
born  early  in  spring,  and  are  about  six  to  the  litter,  the  nests  being  in 
hollow  trees,  under  fallen  timber,  and  in  holes  in  the  ground. 

WOLVERENE. 

Wolverenes  (Gulo  luscus)  are  very  rare  animals  in  Colorado,  and  are 
confined  to  the  higher  portions  of  the  timber  in  the  mountains.  It  is 
seldom  one  hears  of  the  animal,  and  it  is  often  found  on  enquiring  that 
it  is  unknown  in  the  locality.  It  is  a  powerfully  built  creature,  about  forty 
inches  long,  of  which  the  tail  comprises  ten  inches.  The  stout,  heavy-set 
body  and  short  legs  with  long,  sharp  claws  make  an  effective  combination 
for  the  destructive  work  of  which  the  animal  is  capable,  and  with  which  it 
is  credited  in  the  northern  regions,  such  as  destroying  traps,  and  caches 
of  food  and  supplies.  The  color  is  dark  brown  above,  and  lighter  along 
the  sides  and  beneath.  The  fur  has  considerable  value.  The  young  are 
born  about  June  and  are  from  one  to  three  in  a  litter. 

WEASELS. 

For  real  bloodthirstiness  the  Weasels  probably  come  as  near  deserving 
the  palm  as  any  group  of  mammals.  Certainly  they  are  wicked  little 
beasts,  and  courageous  too,  for  they  will  put  up  a  fight  against  enemies 

— 6 — 


many  times  their  size.  The  Marten  and  Wolverene  are  also  weasels, 
though  of  larger  size  than  the  species  to  which  the  term  is  restricted  in 
popular  parlance.  Of  the  four  species  of  weasel  found  in  Colorado,  three 
have  a  white  winter  coat  and  a  brown  summer  coat,  the  fourth,  the  Black- 
footed  Ferret  (Mustela  nigripes),  keeps  its  yellowish  brown  coat- the  year 
round.  The  first  three  species  are  the  Long-tailed  Weasel,  Mustela  longi- 
cauda,  Mountain  Weasel,  Mustela  arizonensis,  and  the  Dwarf  Weasel, 
Mustela  streatori  leptus,  the  first-named  being  the  largest,  and  an  inhabi- 
tant of  the  plains,  while  the  other  two  live  in  the  foothills  and  mountains. 
While  the  Ferret  is  19  to  20  inches  long  the  Dwarf  Weasel  is  about  9^ 
inches  in  length. 

The  Ferret  was  discovered  by  Audubon  and  described  by  him,  ana 
then  no  additional  specimens  were  seen  by  naturalists  for  so  many  years 
that  it  came  to  be  regarded  almost  as  a  myth.  It  is,  however,  pretty  well 
distributed  over  the  plains  region,  though  nowhere  common,  and  in  Colo- 
rado occurs  in  South  Park,  and  possibly  in  our  other  high  parks.  It  is 
addicted  to  living  about  the  prairie  dog  towns,  where  it  preys  on  the  in- 
habitants. 

Weasels  live  on  mice,  chipmunks,  ground  and  tree  squirrels,  and  birds 
when  they  can  catch  them.  Once  when  I  was  riding  up  a  steep  mountain 
trail  a  chipmunk  came  running  down  the  hill  before  me  and  turned  up 
the  trail,  squealing  all  the  time  as  if  in  mortal  terror,  for  which  there 
seemed  ample  reason  when  a  moment  later  a  weasel  came  along,  nose  to 
the  ground,  following  the  chipmunk's  trail.  It  stopped  a  second  or  two 
to  look  at  me,  then  went  on,  and  I  doubt  not  that  soon  a  chipmunk  came 
to  an  untimely  end. 

Weasels  have  rather  large  families,  six  or  eight  in  a  litter,  once  a 
year,  and  no  doubt  the  parents  have  to  rustle  hard  to  provide  food  for  the 
hungry  mouths.  They  destroy  many  mice,  and  no  doubt  as  a  rule  they 
are  beneficial  rather  than  otherwise. 

All  weasels  are  provided  with  scent  bags  near  the  rectum  and,  though 
small,  if  one  is  cut  open  the  odor  is  very  penetrating  and  almost  over- 
powering. 

MINK. 

Minks  are  weasels  leading  a  semiaquatic  life,  and  are  somewhat  larger 
than  the  Black-footed  Ferret,  being  about  two  feet  long.  Their  brown  fur 
has  always  been  in  demand,  and  brings  a  good  price;  it  is  not  only  a 
handsome  fur,  but  a  very  durable  one,  wearing  well  for  many  years.  Mink 
are  probably  found  along  all  the  streams  which  contain  food  for  them, 
both  on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains.  Fish  are  eaten,  as  well  as  mice, 
squirrels  and  birds.  They  are  not  too  particular,  so  long  as  it  is  flesh 
and  they  capture  it  themselves,  or  if  they  can  steal  it  from  the  captor,  as 
they  will  fish  if  left  where  it  is  accessible.  Occasionally  a  Mink  makes 
a  raid  on  a  poultry  yard  with  destructive  results.  The  home  is  in  a  hole 
near  the  water,  and  doubtless  muskrat  burrows  are  often  occupied. 

SKUNKS. 

These  malodorous  animals  are  represented  in  Colorado  by  species  be- 
longing to  two  different  genera,  the  large  skunks  with  white  stripes  on 
the  back,  belonging  to  the  genus  Mephitis,  and  the  smaller  spotted  skunks 
belonging  to  the  genus  Spilogale.  There  are  two  species  of  the  large 
skunks  in  Colorado,  the  Northern  Plains  Skunk  (Mephitis  hudsonica),  and 
the  Long-tailed  Texas  Skunk  (Mephitis  mesomelas  varians).  The  latter  is 
probably  the  most  widely  distributed  of  the  two,  but  skunks  are  found  all 
over  the  state,  going  to  at  least  10,000  feet,  at  which  altitude  in  Gunnison 
county  I  once  had  the  pleasure  of  inhaling  the  perfume  of  one  in  March 

— 7 — 


when  the  snow  was  five  feet  deep,  but  did  not  see  the  animal  itself,  and 
knew  not  what  stirred  it  up. 

These  animals   are   not   at  all   particular  as  to   their   diet.      They   eat 


No.    2.      Long-tailed    Texas    Skunk,    Mephitis    mes 


mice  and  any  other  small  animals  which  come  their  way.  Ground-nesting 
birds  and  their  eggs  suffer,  while  grubs  and  grasshoppers  are  eaten  in 
large  numbers.  I  think  at  times  they  must  largely  subsist  on  these  latter 
insects.  Take  it  all  around,  skunks  are  really  useful.  They  are  prolific 
breeders,  six  or  eight  young  in  a  litter. 

Recently,  when  furs  were  at  the  top  prices,  the  best  black  skunk  skins 
were  quoted  at  figures  once  applicable  to  far  more  valuable  furs.  It  is  a 
really  good  and  durable  fur,  however,  wearing  very  well  indeed. 

SPOTTED   SKUNKS. 

These  pretty  little  skunks  furnish  the  fur  known  to  the  trade  as 
"Civet,"  a  name  properly  belonging  to  a  quite  different  animal.  There  are 
four  species  of  these  skunks  found  in  Colorado,  the  Prairie  Spotted  Skunk, 
Spilogale  iiiterrupta,  Arizona  Spotted  Skunk,  Spilogale  arizonae,  Rocky 
Mountain  Spotted  Skunk,  Spilogale  temiis,  and  the  Great  Basin  Spotted 
Skunk,  Spilogale  gracilis  saxn tills.  These  skunks  do  not  range  so  high 
in  the  mountains  as  their  larger  relatives,  8,000  feet  probably  being  their 
limit  in  altitude.  Below  this  they  appear  to  be  pretty  generally  distributed 
over  the  state.  While  there  is  a  general  similarity  in  the  habits^  of  both 
groups,  the  small  ones  are  more  lightly  built  and  active  and  even  to  some 
extent  climb  into  trees  and  bushes.  In  many  parts  of  the  West  they  are 
called  "Hydrophobia  Skunks"  or  "Phoby  Cats".  There  is  a  somewhat  uni- 
versal impression  that  their  bite  always  causes  hydrophobia  and  is  invari- 
ably fatal.  A.  H.  Howell  of  the  U.  S.  Biological  Survey  says  in  this  con- 
nection: "While  there  are  a  few  authentic  cases  of  skunk  bite  having 
resulted  fatally  there  are  also  many  instances  in  which  it  has  produced  no 


ill  effects  whatever.  The  recorded  cases  of  skunk  rabies  are  nearly  all 
from  the  plains  region  of  the  west  (Kansas,  Texas,  and  Arizona)  ana 
relate  more  to  Mephitis  than  to  Spilogale.  The  most  plausible  explanation 
of  these  facts  seems  to  be  that  at  certain  periods  rabies  may  become  locally 
epidemic  among  dogs  and  wolves,  and  by  them  be  communicated  to 
skunks." 

I  recall  a  somewhat  amusing  incident  in  this  connection.  I  was  in 
western  Gunnison  county  on  a  surveying  expedition,  having  a  couple  of 
men  along.  A  deer  had  been  killed  after  arriving  at  camp  and  was  hang- 
ing up  close  to  our  beds.  I  slept  with  one  of  the  men.  Toward  daylight 
I  was  awakened  by  his  making  a  sudden  movement  and  exclaiming  very 
emphatically  "Get  out  of  here".  I  said,  "What's  the  matter,  Henry?" 
Henry  looked  rather  foolish,  and  said,  "Oh,  nothing."  Next  morning  he 
told  me  that  a  skunk  had  been  poking  about  after  scraps  of  meat,  and  he 
was  afraid  it  might  bite  him,  so  had  thrown  his  hat  at  it.  Fortunately 
nothing  disagreeable  had  happened,  but  I  suggested  he  would  better  not 
be  so  impulsive  next  time. 

Neither  of  the  skunks  has  many  enemies  besides  man,  though  the 
Great  Horned  Owl  does  kill  and  eat  them,  thereby  rendering  its  plumage 
distinctly  odoriferous. 

The  stripes  and  spots  on  the  small  species  make  a  decidedly  effective 
fur  and  it  is  in  considerable  demand. 

HOG-XOSED  OR  WHITE-BACKED  SKUNK. 

While  the  manuscript  of  this  bulletin  was  in  course  of  preparation 
Mr.  C.  E.  Aiken  of  Colorado  Springs  called  the  writer's  attention  to  a 
skunk  which  had  been  brought  to  him  for  mounting.  It  was  immediately 
recognized  as  a  Hog-nosed  or  White-backed  Skunk,  belonging  to  the  genus 
Conepatus,  a  Middle  and  South  American  group,  ranging  as  far  north  as 
Albuquerque,  New  Mexico;  at  least  this  was  the  northernmost  record  until 
the  above-mentioned  specimen  was  secured  on  Little  Fountain  Creek, 
southwest  from  Colorado  Springs.  The  Biological  Survey  refers  it  pro- 
visionally to  Mearns'  Skunk,  Conepatus  mesoleiious  mearnsi.  These  ani- 
mals are  distinguished  by  having  the  nose  prolonged  into  a  naked,  some- 
what piglike  snout,  a  single  broad  white  stripe  on  back  and  tail,  and  very 
long,  strong  claws  on  the  fore  feet.  They  subsist  very  largely  on  grubs 
and  insects  which  they  dig  from  the  ground  with  their  claws  or  root  up 
with  the  nose.  This  sudden  and  unexpected  discovery  raises  the  question 
whether  this  species  has  been  hitherto  overlooked,  or  whether  one  or  more 
individuals  may  have  wandered  north  far  from  the  usual  range.  I  should 
bo  pleased  to  hear  from  anyone  knowing  of  similar  occurrences  in  Colo- 
rado. 

BADGER. 

The  Badger  is  a  rather  unnecessarily  maligned  animal.  True,  it  does 
dig  big  holes  in  the  ground  into  which  a  horse  may  thrust  a  leg,  giving  its 
lider  a  bad  fall  and  possibly  also  breaking  the  leg  in  the  hole,  but  the 
chances  are  that  the  hole  was  dug  in  order  to  get  a  prairie  dog  for  dinner, 
so  that  the  Badger  had  a  really  good  excuse  for  digging.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  badgers  are  quite  useful  animals,  destroying  many  prairie  dogs, 
ground  squirrels  and  similar  vermin.  Their  powerful  forelegs  and  paws 
armed  with  long  stout  claws  are  efficient  tools  for  excavating,  and  the 
flattened,  compressible  body  is  excellently  adapted  for  underground  work, 
while  the  heavy  coat  of  long,  coarse  hair  protects  the  body  from  dirt  and 
dampness.  Badgers  range  all  over  Colorado,  living  both  on  the  plains  and 
in  the  mountains,  even  up  to  timberline. 

I  once  saw  a  badger  traveling  along  after  a  couple  of  coyotes.     A  friend 


has  told  me  of  a  similar  instance,  and  Thompson  Seton  makes  mention 
of  another.  The  object  of  the  association  is  unknown.  Can  any  of  my 
readers  offer  any  information,  or  give  any  further  occurrences  of  this 


No.    3.      Badger,   Taxidea   tnxus. 

nature?  Badgers  are  too  often  killed  at  sight,  which  is  to  be  deplored, 
for  they  are  too  useful  to  be  destroyed.  While  the  fur  has  a  certain  value 
it  is  hardly  enough  to  make  it  worth  while  to  kill  them  merely  for  that. 
The  scientific  name  is  Taxidea  taxus.  Mr.  J.  D.  Figgins  has  recently  de- 
scribed a  subspecies.  Phipps'  Badger,  T.  1.  phippsi,  from  southwestern 
Colorado. 


Leaving  the  carnivorous  animals  which  have  just  been  described  we 
come  to  the  rodents,  which  group  comprises  by  far  the  larger  number  of 
the  mammals  to  which  we  apply  the  term  "small".  They  are  easily  identi- 
fied by  the  large  incisor  teeth,  two  each  in  the  upper  and  lower  jaws. 
Rabbits,  while  they  also  have  long  incisors,  have  four  in  the  upper  jaw,  a 
small  pair  behind  the  large  front  ones,  and  because  of  this  and  other 
structural  differences  are  now  placed,  together  with  the  conies,  in  a  sepa- 
rate order,  the  Lagomorpha,  which  means  literally  having  the  form  of  a 
hare. 

GRASSHOPPER  MICE. 

The  first  of  the  rodents  on  our  list  are  the  Grasshopper  Mice,  or 
Scorpion  Mice  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  belonging  to  the  genus 
Onychomys,  which  is  confined  to  western  North  America,  ranging  from  the 
plains  of  Alberta,  Saskatchewan  and  Manitoba,  south  to  central  Mexico, 
-and  east  to  western  Minnesota  and  eastern  Kansas.  These  animals  are 


— 10 — 


near  relatives  of  the  deer  mice,  but  are  easily  distinguished  from  the 
latter  by  their  heavy  bodies,  short  tails  and  usually  paler  colors.  They  are 
dwellers  in  the  open  country,  never,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  found 
in  underbrush  or  about  rocky  places.  They  live  largely,  if  not  entirely, 
in  holes  in  the  ground,  sometimes  in  holes  abandoned  by  other  animals, 
such  as  prairie  dogs,  for  I  have  taken  them  at  the  old  burrows;  and  they 
may  dig  homes  for  themselves,  as  they  have  good,  strong  fore  paws  and 
claws  and  are  often  taken  at  small  holes  on  the  prairie.  As  might  be  in- 
ferred from  the  names,  they  eat  animal  as  well  as  vegetable  food,  destroy 
a  good  many  insects  such  as  grasshoppers  and  beetles,  and  are  called 
"Scorpion  Mice"  because  they  eat  scorpions  when  found.  One  which  I 
kept  in  confinement  for  a  short  time  preferred  raw  meat  to  any  of  the 
vegetable  foods  I  offered  it.  Their  animal  diet  causes  them  to  decompose 
much  more  rapidly  after  death  than  mice  which  feed  mainly  on  vegetable 
matter.  They  have  a  considerable  range  in  altitude,  being  found  from 
the  lowest  elevations  in  the  state  to  as  high  as  8,500  feet  in  North  Park. 

The  species  are  all  bicolored,  the  under  parts  and  feet  being  white, 
while  the  color  of  the  upper  parts  in  adults  of  course  varies  in  different 
species,  but  is  generally  some  tawny  color,  occasionally  quite  reddish  in 
individuals.  The  young,  as  in  the  case  of  the  deer  mice,  are  blue  or  mouse 
gray  in  color,  gaining  the  adult  colors  with  maturity.  They  breed  in  spring 
and  summer,  having  from  three  to  six  young  in  a  litter,  four  probably 
being  the  average  number. 

The  body  is  stout  and  heavily  built,  and  while  the  total  length  is 
about  the  same  as  that  of  the  deer  mice  inhabiting  the  same  regions,  the 
Grasshopper  Mice  look  larger  because  of  the  proportionately  shorter  tail. 
The  total  length  is  six  inches  or  a  trifle  less,  and  the  tail  1.7  inches. 

In  Colorado  we  have  two  species  or  rather  subspecies  of  these  ani- 
mals, Seton's  Grasshopper  Mouse,  Onychomys  leucogaster  arcticeps,  and  the 
Black-browed  Grasshopper  Mouse,  Onychomys  leucogaster  melanophrys,  the 
two  having  separate  distributions,  but  together  inhabiting  most  of  the  open 
prairie  and  park  country  of  the  state,  and,  as  before  stated,  attaining  an 
altitude  of  8,500  feet  in  North  Park. 

HARVEST  MICE. 

The  Harvest  Mice,  whose  generic  name  is  Rheithrodontomys,  are  small 
animals  inhabiting  in  North  America  the  two  Sonoran  zones.  East  of  the 
Mississippi  river  they  do  not  occur  north  of  the  Ohio  and  Potomac  valleys, 
whereas  in  the  western  United  States  they  range  into  North  Dakota,  Mon- 
tana and  Washington,  and  southward  through  Mexico  and  Central  America 
to  Panama.  In  Mexico  and  Central  America  the  genus  ranges  from  the 
tropical  zone  at  or  near  sea  level  through  all  the  zones  to  and  including 
the  Canadian  at  timberline.  Howell,  in  a  recent  revision  of  the  genus, 
recognizes  fifty-eight  forms,  of  which  four  are  found  in  Colorado. 

The  members  of  this  genus  can  always  be  recognized  by  the  upper 
incisors  each  having  a  longitudinal  groove.  This  groove  is  very  fine  and 
one  sometimes  has  to  look  quite  closely  to  find  it.  While  they  have  a 
superficial  resemblance  to  the  deer  mice,  they  are  smaller  in  size,  with 
proportionately  longer  tails,  which  are  slender,  scaly,  and  thinly  haired. 
The  ears  are  prominent. 

Our  Harvest  Mice  are  dwellers  in  the  open,  preferring  places  over- 
grown with  grass  or  weeds.  One  of  the  Colorado  species,  the  Pallid  Harvest 
Mouse,  is  found  only  in  dry,  sandy  uplands.  In  the  dry  western  regions 
these  mice  in  general  are  apt  to  frequent  the  grassy  borders  of  sloughs, 
small  streams,  and  irrigation  ditches.  The  nests  are  built  of  grass,  lined 
with  soft  materials,  and  placed  either  on  the  ground,  or  above  it  in  bushes 

—11— 


or  low  trees.  They  travel  in  runways  of  their  own,  and  also  in  those 
made  by  other  mice,  and  are  out  both  by  day  and  night.  The  food  is 
mainly  seeds  and  grain,  with  some  green  vegetation.  The  young  are  four 
or  more  in  number,  and  they  appear  to  breed  throughout  spring  and 
summer  into  the  fall. 

Gary  noted  one  at  Wray  moving  about  in  the  brush  and  often  winding 
its  tail  around  a  twig  to  assist  itself.  The  writer  found  one  at  Barr  under 
an  old  piece  of  sheet  iron  lying  on  the  prairie. 

The  colors  of  the  various  forms  in  Colorado  vary  from  light  buff  to 
various  shades  of  brown,  usually  light,  but  often,  if  not  always,  mixed  with 
blackish  hairs.  The  tail  is  bicolor,  brown  above,  lighter  or  white  below. 
Adults  vary  in  length  from  4.8  to  5.95  inches,  and  the  tail  from  2  to  2.5 
inches. 

The  Harvest  Mice  occurring  in  Colorado  are  the  Pallid  Harvest  Mouse, 
Rheithrodontoinys  albescens  albescens;  the  San  Luis  Valley  or  Mountain 
Harvest  Mouse,  R.  moiitanus;  the  Aztec  Harvest  Mouse,  Rheithrodontoinys 
megalotis  azteciis;  and  the  Prairie  or  Nebraska  Harvest  Mouse,  R.  m. 
dychei. 

The  Mountain  Harvest  Mouse  is  interesting  from  the  fact  that  the 
first  specimen  was  taken  by  one  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  surveying  parties 
in  August,  1853,  and  was  described  by  Baird  in  1855.  The  type  specimen 
long  remained  unique.  A  single  immature  specimen  was  taken  by  Vernon 
Bailey  at  Del  Norte  in  1904.  In  the  fall  of  1907  Merritt  Gary  went  to  the 
Medano  Ranch,  15  miles  northeast  of  Mosca,  probably  not  far  from  the 
place  at  which  the  type  was  taken,  and  collected  a  considerable  series  of  the 
animals,  enabling  a  detailed  study  to  be  made  for  the  first  time.  He  found 
them  on  a  low  sandy  ridge  running  through  the  meadows  on  the  ranch, 
The  present  writer  was  unable  to  secure  any  at  the  same  place  two  years 
later,  but  did  take  one  at  Crestone,  several  miles  farther  north. 

As  a  whole  the  distribution  of  Harvest  Mice  in  Colorado  is  not 
very  well  known.  They  seem  to  be  quite  common  in  northeastern  Colorado, 
have  been  taken  at  Canon  City,  and  are  also  found  in  various  portions  of 
southwestern  Colorado.  I  have  not  found  them  at  Colorado  Springs,  nor 
did  I  take  any  in  southeastern  Colorado  in  1905. 

DEER  MICE  OR  WHITE-FOOTED  MICE. 

Of  our  native  wild  mice  probably  the  best  known  to  outers  are  those 
belonging  to  the  group  collectively  known  as  Deer  Mice  or  White-footed 
Mice,  the  former  name  being  derived  from  the  tawny  color  of  many  of  the 
species,  something  like  that  of  the  red  coat  of  a  deer,  and  the  latter  from 
the  fact  that  most  of  them  have  white  feet.  They  are  members  of  the 
genus  Peromyscus,  a  very  large  group  which  has  been  subdivided  into 
several  subgenera.  In  Colorado  we  have  no  less  than  eight  species  and 
subspecies. 

There  is  more  or  less  similarity  in  the  habits  of  all  these.  They  are 
strictly  nocturnal.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  locality  or  situation 
which  was  not  inhabited  by  one  or  more  species.  In  certain  portions  of 
Colorado  I  have  found  four  species  in  the  same  locality.  They  are  sure 
to  be  found  about  rocks,  and  dead  logs  and  brush.  The  banks  of  the  dry 
arroyos  of  the  prairies  often  have  holes  inhabited  by  these  mice.  Traps 
set  in  meadow  mice  runways  in  wet  grassy  places  usually  yield  their  quota 
of  deer  mice.  In  short,  they  are  practically  everywhere.  In  altitude  they 
range  from  the  lowest  elevations  up  to  timberline  at  least.  Osgood  says: 
"Throughout  practically  all  of  the  western  United  States  they  exist  in 
countless  numbers,  perhaps  exceeding  those  of  the  other  combined  mam- 
malian inhabitants  of  the  region." 

Usually,  so  far  as  my  observations  go,  living  in  holes  in  the  ground 

—12 — 


or  about  rocks  and  logs,  they  will  occasionally  make  their  nests  of  grass 
and  other  soft  materials  under  boards  or  pieces  of  sheet  iron  lying  on  the 
ground.  In  places  where  the  common  house  mouse  is  not  found  they 


No.   4.      Tawny  Deer-mouse,   PeromyKcu.s  ni.   rnflmix. 

often  come  into  houses  and  other  buildings  and  act  much  as  the  latter  does. 
From  my  bed  I  have  seen  mice  running  about  the  floor  of  a  log  cabin. 
The  least  movement  and  away  they  scampered. 

Their  food  consists  of  almost  anything,  I  think.     Seeds  and  berries  of 
all  sorts,  and  meat  is  also  eaten.     They  nibble  about  dead  carcasses,  and 


No.    5.      Long-nosed    Door-mouse,    I'cromyseus    iin.sutus. 


when  several  are  confined  together  in  a  cage,  they  are  sometimes,  but  not 
always,  cannibalistic  enough  to  eat  their  own  kind.  Grain  is  sometimes 
carried  away  from  the  farmers'  stacks,  and  because  of  their  large  numbers 
they  may  do  considerable  damage. 

The  first  coat  of  the  young  is  a  bluish  gray  in  color,  quite  different 
from  that  of  the  adult,  which  is  not  attained  until  the  animal  is  full 
grown,  or  nearly  so. 

Some  of  our  species  are  about  the  size  of  the  common  house  mouse, 
others  are  noticeably  larger.  The  smaller  species  have  a  total  length  of 
six  inches,  including  the  tail,  which  is  2.6  inches,  and  our  largest  species 
is  7.5  inches  long,  half  of  which  is  included  in  the  tail.  Our  eight  species 
may  be  divided  into  two  groups,  one  of  which  we  will  call  the  small-eared 
group,  and  the  other  the  big-eared  group.  The  species  belonging  to  the 
former  are  the  Tawny  Deer  Mouse,  Peromyscus  maniculatus  rufinus;  the 
Nebraska  or  Black-eared  Deer  Mouse,  P.  in.  osgoodi;  the  Yellow  Deer 
Mouse,  P.  m.  nebrascensis;  and  the  Tornillo  Deer  Mouse,  P.  leucopus  tor- 
iiillo.  The  big-eared  species  are  the  Golden-breasted  Deer  Mouse  or  Buff- 
breasted  Canon  Mouse,  P.  crinitus  auripectus;  Rowley's  Deer  Mouse,  P. 
boylc-i  rovvleyi;  True's  Deer  Mouse,  P.  truei;  and  the  Long-nosed  Deer 
Mouse  or  Estes  Park  Cliff  Mouse,  P.  iiasutus. 

The  mice  of  this  latter  group  appear  to  make  their  homes  more  ex- 
clusively about  rocky  places  than  those  of  the  first  group.  Thus,  in 
southwest  Colorado  I  found  the  Tawny,  Rowley's,  the  Golden-breasted  and 
True's  Deer  Mice  all  living  among  the  rocks  in  a  canon  of  the  Dolores 
river,  but  only  the  first-named  was  taken  elsewhere,  as  for  instance  out 
in  the  sage  brush  and  greasewood,  and  this  has  been  my  experience  in 
other  localities. 

WOOD   RATS. 

Most  of  us  Colorado  people  have  met  with  Mountain  Rats,  Wood 
Rats,  Pack  Rats,  or  Trade  Rats,  as  they  are  variously  termed,  for  one 
species  or  another  is  found  over  the  whole  area  of  the  state,  though  in 
some  of  the  eastern  counties  they  are  very  locally  distributed  because  of 
the  lack  of  country  preferred  by  them.  There  are  in  all  ten  species  and 
subspecies  of  these  animals  found  in  Colorado,  six  belonging  to  the  round- 
tailed  group  and  four  to  the  bushy-tailed  group.  They  all  belong  to  the 
genus  Neotoma,  the  bushy-tailed  animals  being  placed  in  the  subgenus 
Teonoma,  while  the  round-tailed  belong  to  the  subgenus  Neotoma. 

The  genus,  with  six  other  allied  genera,  belongs  to  the  subfamily 
Neotominse,  which  is  confined  to  North  and  Middle  America,  from  Nica- 
ragua and  Guatemala  northward  into  Alaska  and  northern  Canada  to 
latitude  62°,  and  in  the  southern  United  States  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific.  There  are  no  other  animals  in  this  state  with  which  any  of  the 
species  is  likely  to  be  confused,  unless  it  be  the  common  brown  rat,  and 
the  naked  tail  of  this  animal  at  once  suffices  to  distinguish  it,  as  the 
tails  of  our  native  species  are  all  haired,  while  none  of  them  are  at  all 
like  the  brown  rat  in  color. 

The  various  Wood  Rats  have  at  least  one  habit  in  common,  no  matter 
where  they  may  happen  to  live,  and  this  is  the  accumulation  of  piles  of 
trash  and  rubbish  about  their  nests,  or  nest  sites  when  the  nests  happen 
to  be  in  holes.  These  accumulations  are  also  placed  away  from  the  nests 
at  times.  It  is  the  habit  of  carrying  away  articles  of  all  sorts  which  has 
given  these  animals  the  names  of  "Pack  Rats"  and  "Trade  Rats", 
the  latter  because  of  a  myth  that  something  is  left  in  exchange 
for  what  is  taken.  Where  there  are  rocks  the  nests  are  in  holes 
or  crevices,  but  the  pile  of  trash  is  ever  present,  and  it  is  also  there 

—14— 


when,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  the  nest  is  in  a  hollow  tree.  Some  of 
the  species  make  nests  under  bushes  or  tree  cactus,  piling  a  heap  of 
stuff  over  the  nest.  It  would  be  easier  to  say  what  is  not  in  these  heaps 


Bailey's  Wood-rat  c 

Photograph  by  Herman  W.  Nash. 


nileyi. 


than  what  is,  for  anything  portable  is  carried  to  them,  sticks,  bones,  cow 
chips,  horse  dung,  pieces  of  metal,  rags,  anything  not  too  much  for  the 
animal's  .strength.  Nor  do  the  animals  always  take  their  booty  to  the 
nests.  A  lot  of  knives,  forks  and  spoons  were  once  missed  from  a  mine 


No.   7.     Nest   of  Bailey's  Wood-rat.      Photograph   by   Herman  W.   Nash. 
—15— 


cabin  which  had  been  unoccupied  all  winter,  and  were  found  under  the 
floor,  but  not  at  a  nest.  Another  rat  industriously  carried  chips  from  a 
wood  pile  into  a  blacksmith  shop  and  dropped  them  into  a  barrel  standing 


No.    8.      Bailey's    Wood-rat,    female    with    two    young. 
Photograph   by   Herman   W.    Nash. 

(here.  The  surroundings  of  the  nests  always  appear  decidedly  untidy 
because  of  the  rubbish  piles  and  the  dung  of  the  owners  scattered  about, 
though  it  is  said  that  the  nests  themselves  are  always  clean  and  tidy. 

All  the  species  are  usually  nocturnal,  but  they  may  occasionally  be 
seen  in  the  daytime.  Their  food  is  mainly  of  a  vegetable  nature,  though 
they  will  occasionally  eat  flesh.  All  sorts  of  fruits,  seeds,  berries  and 
nuts  are  eaten,  and  no  doubt  such  insects  as  may  be  captured  are  de- 
voured. 

I  think  but  one  litter  of  young  in  a  season  is  the  rule  for  our  species. 
The  offspring  are  born  late  in  the  spring  or  early  summer,  and  are  from 
three  to  six  in  number. 

Our  smallest  species,  the  Desert  Wood  Rat,  has  a  total  length  of  11.25 
inches,  of  which  the  tail  occupies  4.8  inches,  while  the  largest  species,  the 
Mountain  Rat,  is  15  inches  or  more  in  total  length,  with  the  tail  6.3 
inches.  1  have  measured  specimens  which  were  18  inches  over  all,  but 
these  were  unusually  large. 

The  names  of  those  of  our  Wood  Rats  included  in  the  Round-tailed 
Group  are  as  follows:  Bailey's  Wood  Rat,  Neotoma  floridana  baileyi; 
Baird's  Wood  Rat,  N.  micropus  micropus;  Hoary  Wood  Rat,  N.  m.  canes- 
cens;  Warren's  White-throated  Wood  Rat,  N.  albigula  warreni;  Gale's  or 
the  Colorado  Wood  Rat,  N.  Mexicana  fallax;  and  the  Desert  Wood  Rat, 
N.  desertorum.  The  Bushy-tailed  Group  includes:  the  Mountain  Rat  or 
Colorado  Bushy-tailed  Wood  Rat,  X.  cinerea  orolestes;  the  Arizona  Wood 
Rat,  N.  c.  arizona?;  the  Cinnamon  Wood  Rat,  N.  c.  cimiamomoa;  and  the 
Pallid  Wood  Rat,  X.  c.  rupfcola. 

Of  our  various  species  the  Mountain  Rat  is  perhaps  the  most  widely 
distributed.  Beginning  with  the  upper  foothills  of  the  Front  and  Pikes 
Peak  Ranges  it  extends  westward  through  the  mountains,  and  even  down 

— 16 — 


to   such    low   altitudes   as   Grand   Junction,    4,600    feet,   giving   one   of   the 
greatest  zonal  ranges  of  any  Colorado  mammal. 

This'  species  is  the  Mountain  Rat,  I  am  tempted  to  say  of  fable,  and 


mmt 


X<>.    0.      Mountain    Rat   or   Pack    Rat,    Xeatomn    cinerea   orolentcs. 

Photograph  by  Charles  E.  Mace. 

certainly  many  fables  have  been  told  about  the  creature,  which  is  well 
known  to  all  dwellers  in  its  range.  Were  you  ever  in  a  cabin  or  house 
which  had  a  canvas  or  cloth  ceiling,  and  where  a  rat  lived?  And  after 
you  had  turned  in  did  you  not  enjoy  having  that  rat  run  foot  races  with 
himself  all  over  that  canvas,  making  as  much  racket  as  a  four-horse 
team?  One  rat  can  certainly  give  a  fellow  the  impression  that  there  are 
a  dozen  of  them  scampering  about  up  there.  Perhaps  when  you  roll  out 
in  the  morning  and  pull  on  your  shoe  you  find  a  nice  chip  tucked  away 
in  the  toe.  Merely  Brother  Rat's  playfulness.  Some  of  your  smaller  be- 
longings may  be  missing  and  you  find  them  elsewhere  than  where  you 
left  them  the  night  before,  or  even  do  not  find  them  at  all.  Your  friend 
was  very  busy  while  you  slumbered. 

Wherever  these  rats  are  found  they  make  their  homes  in  every 
imaginable  location.  Among  other  places  they  go  into  abandoned  mine 
tunnels,  among  the  drifts  and  timbers.  I  took  one  in  an  old  tunnel  at 
Querida,  Custer  County,  at  a  point  29, 5  feet  from  the  entrance.  It  is  in 
the  fall  and  winter  that  these  animals  are  most  prone  to  come  into  habita- 
tions and  other  buildings,  though  they  are  just  as  likely  to  come  into  an 
empty' house,  a  stable,  or  an  abandoned  shaft  house  as  into  an  occupied 
dwelling.  I  have  seen  green  aspen  leaves  in  their  piles  in  at  least  two 
cases,  and  actually  saw  a  rat  eating  one  of  the  leaves.  At  the  same  place 
were  pieces  of  fungus  from  dead  logs,  apparently  gathered  for  food. 


—17— 


MEADOW  MICE  OR  FIELD  MICE. 

The  group  or  family  of  mammals  known  as  Field  Mice,  Meadow  Mice, 
or  Voles  is  of  wide  distribution,  being  found  over  practically  the  whole  of 


No.  10.  Nest  of  Mountain  Rat;  found  on  sill  under  a  building,  removed 
to  outside  and  placed  on  steps  in  same  position  •with  respect  to  the 
boards  as  in  its  original  location;  composed  almost  entirely  of 
shredded  sunny  sacks. 


the  northern  hemisphere  outside  of  the  tropical  regions.  Technically  it  is 
known  as  the  subfamily  Microtiiue,  and  it  is  represented  in  Colorado  by 
four  genera,  Microtus,  comprising  what  may  for  convenience  be  termed 
the  true  Meadow  Mice;  Evotomys  or  the  Red-backed  Mice;  Phenacomys, 
the  Mountain  Voles  or  False  Lemming  Mice;  and  Fiber  or  Ondatra,  the 
Muskrats. 

Except  the  Muskrats  these  are  all  small,  heavy-bodied,  short-tailed 
animals,  leading  terrestrial  lives  in  grassy  places,  usually  damp  by  prefer- 
ence, or  in  the  woods,  among  fallen  logs  or  about  the  brush,  and  in  Colo- 
rado at  all  elevations  from  the  plains  to  above  14,000  feet.  Their  food  is 
largely  vegetable,  consisting  of  grasses  and  other  green  stuff,  as  well  as 
seeds  and  bark.  It  is  by  gnawing  the  bark  of  fruit  trees  that  much  dam- 
age to  orchards  is  done  by  these  mice.  None  of  the  species  is  known  to 
hibernate. 

Of  these  four  genera  the  Muskrats  are  easily  distinguished  by  their 
large  size  and  general  adaptation  to  a  semiaquatic  life;  and  the  Red-backed 
Mice,  as  their  name  suggests,  by  the  reddish  color  of  the  back.  The  two 
remaining  genera  are  more  difficult  to  distinguish  from  one  another,  and 
as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Mountain  Voles  were  for  a  long  time  confused 
with  the  other  Field  Mice  until  Dr.  C.  H.  Merriam  discovered  that  their 
molar  teeth  had  root^  while  the  molars  of  the  others  were  always  rootless. 
The  Colorado  species  of  Mountain  Voles  have  a  proportionately  much 

— 18 — 


shorter   tail    than   our   various   species   of  Field   Mice,   with   one  exception, 
and  that  one  is  not  likely  to  cause  any  confusion. 

Of  this  family  the  Field  Mice  have  the  greatest  number  of  species  in 


No.   11.     Cantankerous  Vole,   Microtug  mordax;  about  two-thirds  life  size. 

Colorado,  namely  five,  and  they  are  found  almost  everywhere  except  in 
the  driest  prairie  regions.  When  living  in  grassy  places  they  make 
numerous  runways  through  the  grass,  along  which  they  travel  and  which 
are  utilized  by  the  other  small  mammals  inhabiting  such  places,  such  as 
deer  mice  and  shrews.  Their  holes  are  not  far  from  the  runways,  and  in 
the  burrows  are  globular  nests  of  grass  and  other  plant  fibers.  In  addition 
to  having  holes  these  mice  make  nests  on  top  of  the  ground  of  the  same 
materials  as  the  underground  nests,  and  they  also  make  nests  under  pieces 
of  board  or  sheet  iron  which  may  be  lying  about. 

The  names  of  our  Field  or  Meadow  Mice  are  as  follows:  The  Saguache 
Meadow  Mouse,  Microtus  pennsylvanicus  modestus;  the  Dwarf  Meadow 
Mouse,  M.  namis;  the  Cantankerous  or  Rocky  Mountain  Meadow  Mouse, 
M.  mordax;  the  Pigmy  Meadow  Mouse,  M.  pauperrimus;  and  Hayden's 
Meadow  Mouse  or  Upland  Mouse,  M.  ochrogaster  haydeni. 

RED-BACKED  MICE. 

The  Red-backed  Mice,  genus  Evotomys,  are,  as  previously  stated,  dis- 
tinguished from  the  other  Colorado  meadow  mice  by  the  reddish  color  of 
the  back.  The  genus  is  circumpolai  in  distribution,  and  ranges  little,  if 
any,  below  the  Canadian  Zone.  The  species  found  in  Colorado  is  the  Colo- 
lado  Red-backed  Mouse,  Evotoinys  gapperi  galei. 

In  Colorado  8,000  feet  is  about  the  lowest  altitude  to  which  this  species 
ranges.  Whether  it  is  to  be  found  above  timberline  I  cannot  say  as  there 
are  no  records  bearing  upon  this  point,  but  it  is  confined  to  the  boreal 
zones.  It  lives  in  the  woods  and  is  found  about  the  fallen  logs,  making 
its  nests  both  under  logs  and  in  burrows.  It  does  not  hibernate  and  is  not 
known  to  lay  up  any  stores  of  food  for  winter  use.  Its  food  is  seeds  of 

— 19 — 


various  sorts,  also  grass.     From  four  to  six  young  are  born  in  a  litter,  and 
the  breeding  season   extends   from   May  into   July. 


Xo.    12.      Nest    of    Colorado    Red-backed    Mouse,    Evotomys    Capper!    j^nloi; 

on  ground  under  piece  of  building  paper.     Photograph  by 
Albert  Haanstad. 

MOUNTAIN  LEMMING  MICE  OR  VOLES. 

It  is  difficult  so  to  describe  the  Mountain  Voles  that  a  layman  can 
distinguish  them  from  the  true  Meadow  Mice.  They  are  small  animals 
with  proportionately  shorter  tails  than  most  of  our  species  of  Meadow 
Mice.  The  most  certain  distinguishing  characteristic  is  the  molar  teeth, 
each  of  which  has  two  roots  in  the  adult  animals,  while  the  molar  teeth 
of  the  Meadow  Mice  have  no  roots,  the  portion  which  is  seated  in  the  jaw 
being  the  same  shape  as  the  external  portion. 

The  name  Pheiiaconiys  means  "false  mouse",  and  was  given  because 
the  members  of  the  genus  had*  been  placed  in  Microtus  because  of  their 
external  resemblance  to  that  genus.  The  genus  is  North  American  and  is 
confined  to  the  boreal  regions  of  the  continent  and  higher  elevations  of 
the  Rocky  and  other  western  mountains.  There  are  two  species  in  Colo- 
rado, the  Mountain  Lemming  Mouse  or  Idaho  Mountain  Vole,  Phenacomys 
oropliilu^,  and  Treble's  Lemming  Mouse  or  Mountain  Vole,  P.  preblei. 

Vernon  Bailey,  in  his  account  of  the  mammals  of  the  Glacier  National 
Park,  says  this  species  lives  in  burrows  in  the  grassy  parks,  and  makes 
tiny  runways  through  the  grass  from  one  burrow  to  another,  but  both 
the  burrows  and  runways  are  well  concealed.  The  animals  are  largely 
nocturnal.  They  seer-  to  eat  much  green  vegetation.  The  nests  appear 
to  be  entirely  underground.  They  apparently  have  in  a  season  several 
litters  of  from  four  to  six  young. 

At  present  Preble's  Mountain  Vole  is  known  only  from  the  type  local- 

—20— 


ity,  which  is  Twin  or  Lillie's  peak,  near  Long's  peak,  at  9,000  feet,  and 
from  North  Boulder  creek,  also  at  about  9,000  feet  elevation.  The  type 
was  taken  in  a  perfectly  dry  locality  covered  by  forest,  most  of  which 
had  fallen. 

MUSKRATS. 

The  Muskrat  is  well  adapted  to  the  semiaquatic  life  which  it  leads, 
having  a  dense  close  under  fur  with  long  guard  hairs  which  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  wet  through,  at  least  while  the  animal  is  alive,  an  almost 
naked  tail  flattened  vertically,  and  large  webbed  hind  feet  set  obliquely 
to  the  leg  so  that  they  can  be  turned  edgewise  when  carried  forward.  The 
ears  are  small  and  hidden  in  the  fur.  It  makes  its  home  in  holes  in  the 
banks  of  streams  and  ponds,  and  houses  of  mud  and  grass  are  also  built 
in  shallow  water.  Even  though  it  is  extensively  trapped  for  its  fur  it  is 
still  abundant,  and  is  almost  as  much  so  in  closely  settled  regions  as  in 
the  wilderness.  At  least  civilization  seems  to  have  no  terrors  for  it,  and 
the  proximity  of  mankind  does  not  drive  the  animal  away.  (After  I  had 
written  the  preceding  I  learned  that  in  Minnesota  and  elsewhere  the  catch 
of  Muskrats  had  decreased  greatly  the  last  year,  the  decrease  being  ap- 
parently due  to  overtrapping  during  the  period  of  extraordinarily  high 
prices  for  furs.)  The  food  is  grass  and  other  vegetation;  we  often  see 
on  the  waters  of  ponds  floating  grass  which  these  animals  have  cut  for 
lood.  Where  fresh  water  mussels  occur  these  are  brought  up  from  the 
bottom  and  opened  by  biting  the  hinge  between  the  two  valves,  whereupon 
the  contents  are  devoured. 

While  more  or  less  of  nocturnal  or  twilight  habits  the  Muskrat  is 
often  seen  about  in  the  daytime,  especially  when  not  much  disturbed, 
sometimes  swimming  or  feeding,  or  sunning  itself  in  some  convenient 
place.  Trails  are  often  worn  through  the  grass  where  the  animals  come 
up  from  the  water  or  travel  across  from  one  water  to  another.  The  litters 
are  large,  up  to  twelve  in  number,  and  are  born  from  May  to  July,  and 
probably  at  least  two  litters  in  a  season  are  the  rule  in  Colorado. 

Two  species  are  found  in  Colorado,  the  Rocky  Mountain  Muskrat, 
Ondatra  zibcthicus  osoyooensis,  which  is  the  Muskrat  found  west  of  the 
summit  of  the  continental  divide  and  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Range;  and 
the  Great  Plains  Muskrat,  O.  z.  cinnnmominus,  the  species  of  the  plains 
region,  but  ranging  up  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  mountains  as  high  as 
Ward,  Boulder  County.  The  summits  of  the  ranges  appear  to  form  the 
barrier  between  this  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Muskrat. 

POCKET  MICE. 

The  daintiest  little  animals  we  have  are  the  smaller  species  of  Pocket 
Mice,  the  bodies  of  some  of  which  are  hardly  as  large  and  long  as  two 
joints  of  one's  finger,  and  which  are  clothed  in  a  soft,  silky  fur.  Unfortu- 
nately one  seldom  sees  them  in  life  as  they  are  practically  exclusively 
nocturnal.  They  have  cheek  pouches,  or  pockets  with  external  openings, 
hence  their  name,  these  pouches  being  used  for  carrying  food.  These  mice 
make  their  homes  in  burrows  as  tiny  as  their  occupants,  often  about 
yuccas  o'r  among  low  bushes,  and  sometimes  with  little  trails  leading  from 
one  to  another.  The  entrances  are  often  closed  during  the  day.  Not  all 
these  mice  make  small  burrows,  for  the  large  Kansas  Pocket  Mouse  makes 
a  good-sized  hole,  often  going  straight  down  into  the  ground.  The  food 
consists -of  the  seeds  of  any  of  the  plants  occurring  in  their  habitat. 

Pocket  Mice  are  nocturnal  in  their  habits.  Some  of  the  species  are 
among  our  very  smallest  mammals.  Our  smaller  species  vary  in  total 
length  from  4.5  to  5.5  inches,  the  tail  being  from  2  to  2.65  inches.  The 
Kansas  Pocket  Mouse  has  a  total  length  of  8.75  inches,  and  tail  4.25 

—21— 


inches.  There  are  six  species  of  Pocket  Mice  recorded  as  actually  having 
been  taken  in  Colorado,  as  follows:  The  Buff-bellied  Pocket  Mouse, 
Perognathus  fasciatus  inf raluteus ;  the  Plains  Pocket  Mouse,  P.  flavescens; 
the  Black-eared  Pocket  Mouse,  P.  apache  melanotis;  the  Colorado  Pocket 
Mouse,  P.  a.  caryi;  Baird's  Pocket  Mouse,  P.  flavus,  and  the  Kansas  Pocket 
Mouse,  P.  hispidus  paradoxus.  In  color  they  are  various  shades  of  buff, 
with  many  black  or  blackish  hairs  mingled  in  the  back.  They  are  found 
in  the  prairie  and  other  dry  regions  of  the  state. 

KANGAROO  RATS. 

Kangaroo  Rats  are  an  exclusively  western  group  of  mammals,  ranging 
from  Oregon  well  south  into  Mexico,  and  always  confined  to  more  or  less 
arid  regions.  Like  the  Pocket  Mice  and  Pocket  Gophers  they  have  external 
cheek  pouches,  opening  on  the  outside  of  the  mouth,  not  on  the  inside  as 
in  the  case  of  the  chipmunks  and  similar  animals;  these  pouches  are  lined 
with  hair  and  are  used  for  carrying  food  to  the  nests  and  storage  places. 
Their  hind  legs  are  greatly  elongated,  and  the  tail  is  extremely  long,  with 
a  tuft  or  pencil  at  the  tip,  and  is  well-haired  its  full  length.  All  the 
species  have  certain  markings  in  common,  these  being  more  or  less  dis- 
tinct crescentic  black  facial  lines,  white  spot  over  eye  and  behind  ear,  and 
a  white  stripe  across  the  thigh.  The  upper  parts  are  buffy,  with  more 
or  fewer  black  hairs;  the  under  parts  and  feet  white.  The  tail  has  a  dark 
stripe  above  and  another  below,  with  white  between.  The  pencil  is  dark. 
The  total  length  is  about  ten  inches,  the  tail  about  six. 

We  have  four  forms  in  Colorado,  the  Mountain  or  San  Luis  Kangaroo 
Rat,  Perodipus  ordii  montamis;  the  Moki  Kangaroo  Rat,  P.  o.  longipes; 
the  Wyoming  Kangaroo  Rat,  P.  o.  luteolus;  and  Richardson's  Kangaroo 
Rat,  P.  o.  richardsoni.  They  inhabit  many  of  the  lower  arid  portions  of 
the  state. 

The  habits  of  these  animals  are  very  interesting.  While  mainly 
twilight  or  nocturnal,  as  their  large  eyes  would  lead  one  to  suspect,  yet 
they  do  occasionally  go  abroad  by  daylight,  and  the  individual  whose 
picture  is  shown  here  was  captured  in  the  daytime  in  the  San  Luis  Valley 
where  it  was  out  among  the  greasewood  and  sage  brush.  Two  of  us  had  no 
difficulty  in  running  it  down  and  taking  it  in  our  hands.  It  did  not  appear 
to  leap  in  trying  to  escape,  but  rather  to  run.  They  live  in  burrows, 


No.   13.     Mountain  Kangaroo  Rat,   Perodipus  montanus. 
—22— 


usually  preferring  sandy  soil,  and  often  throw  up  quite  good-sized  mounds, 
to  which  there  are  several  entrances,  each  with  a  well  marked  trail  leading 
from  it.  The  entrances  are  often  closed  during  the  day.  Frequently  the 
holes  are  under  a  bush  or  yucca,  and  almost  invariably  there  are  two 
entrances,  one  on  either  side  of  the  bush.  Trails  run  from  one  bush  to 
another,  and  the  colony  is  a  network  of  trails.  I  have  on  a  few  occasions 
dug  out  burrows,  but  without  gaining  much  information  as  to  the  habits 
of  the  owners;  but  I  may  have  been  unfortunate  in  my  choice  of  digging 
places.  They  are  quite  social  and  live  in  colonies  of  various  sizes,  a  num- 
ber of  holes  being  found  not  far  apart. 

The  food  is  principally  seeds  of  various  kinds,  and  leaves  of  som? 
plants  are  also  eaten.  Stores  are  laid  up  in  the  burrows  against  scarcity 
and  inclement  weather,  for  while  they  do  not  hibernate,  they  may  remain 
within  doors  during  cold  or  stormy  weather.  The  food  is  placed  in  the 
cheek  pouches  with  the  fore  paws,  used  like  hands.  When  it  is  desired 
to  empty  the  pouches  the  animal  puts  its  fore  paws  behind  the  pouches 
and  brings  them  forward,  pressing  against  the  face  at  the  same  time,  thus 
forcing  out  the  contents.  I  have  seen  a  pocket  gopher  do  this  and  the 
movements  are  very  quick. 

JUMPING  MICE. 

The  Jumping  Mice,  which  must  not  be  confused  with  the  Kangaroo 
Rats,  belong  to  the  genus  Zapus,  a  small  group  which  with  the  exception 
of  one  species  is  confined  to  North  America.  They  are  small  animals, 
with  bodies  about  the  size  of  House  Mice,  with  the  hindlegs  greatly  elon- 
gated, and  with  very  long  tails.  Of  some  twenty  known  species  and  sub- 
species two  have  been  found  in  Colorado,  the  Prairie  Jumping  Mouse,  Zapus 
luidsonius  campostris,  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  Jumping  Mouse,  Zapus 
priiu-eps.  The  former  has  been  found  in  various  counties  in  northeastern 
Colorado,  while  the  latter  appears  to  be  pretty  generally  distributed 
through  the  mountainous  portions  of  the  state. 

The  color  is  buff,  which  on  the  back  is  much  darkened  by  blackish 
hairs,  so  that  the  animal  appears  to  have  a  wide  buff  stripe  on  either  side. 


Rocky    Mountain    Jumping    Mouse,    K:ipu.x    princcpM;    about    half 
life   size. 


—23— 


The  under  parts  are  white  with  some  buff.  The  tail  is  bicolor,  dusky 
above,  whitish  below.  The  total  length  is  about  9  inches,  and  tail  5.5 
inches.  These  animals  live  in  meadows,  along  the  edges  of  woods,  and 
in  shrubby  fields,  showing  a  preference  for  moist  places.  I  have  taken 
them  near  streams  in  quite  heavy  timber  in  the  mountains,  and  also  in 
open  ground  along  small  spring  runs.  In  Colorado  the  altitudinal  range 
is  up  to  above  9,000  feet.  The  nests  are  of  grass,  sometimes  under- 
ground, sometimes  above,  in  the  grass  or  by  small  bushes.  Five  or  six 
young  are  born  in  late  spring  or  early  summer.  The  food  is  seeds  and 
similar  material.  They  hibernate  in  holes  underground,  but  may  come  out 
for  a  short  time  in  mild  weather. 

PORCUPINE. 

Yellow-haired  Porcupine  (Erothizon  epixanthus)  is  the  name  of  our 
prickly  friend  whose  work  is  often  seen  in  the  forests  in  the  shape  of  bare 
spots  on  the  trunks  of  trees  where  the  bark  has  been  gnawed  away.  Some- 
times the  trees  are  girdled  and  die,  more  often  the  bare  places  are  scattered 
here  and  there  on  the  tree  and  do  no  permanent  harm  except  possibly  by 
affording  opportunities  for  insect  enemies  of  the  tree  to  begin  their  de- 
structive work.  With  their  powerful  claws  and  limbs  porcupines  are 
excellent  though  usually  rather  slow  climbers,  yet  can  scuttle  up  a  tree  in 
fairly  lively  fashion  if  alarmed.  The  bark  of  trees  forms  their  principal 
article  of  diet.  They  are  by  preference  frequenters  of  the  coniferous 
forests,  but  at  times  wander  away  and  have  even  been  captured  on  the 
plains  well  away  from  the  foothills.  The  young  are  from  one  to  four  in 


3    ^ 
K     p 


P     g 


No.    15.      Yellow-haired    Porcupine,    Erethizon    cpixunthum. 

24 


number,  are  born  with  their  spiny  armament  already  developed,  and  are 
large  as  compared  with  the  size  of  the  parent. 

In  spite  of  the  protecting  quills  some  animals  are  brave  enough  or 
reckless  enough  to  kill  and  eat  porcupines.  Mountain  lions  are  said  to  do 
it,  and  other  animals  may  do  so.  I  have  seen  the  remains  of  porcupines 
which  had  been  killed  and  eaten,  and  evidently  the  victim  had  been  turned 
on  its  back  and  the  belly  opened.  Beside  the  damage  done  to  trees  porcu- 
pines are  frequently  nuisances  about  cabins,  gnawing  anything  which  has 
been  handled  by  man,  apparently  attracted  by  the  salty  flavor  left  by 
perspiration,  and  cabin  floors  are  often  badly  damaged  by  the  powerful 
teeth  of  these  animals.  The  flesh  is  palatable,  or  at  least  eatable,  though 
personally  I  can  plead  guilty  to  having  eaten  but  one,  or  my  share  thereof, 
a  half  grown  animal  which  came  about  our  camp  at  Mud  Springs  on  White 
River  plateau  and  disturbed  our  slumbers.  As  we  were  out  of  meat  it  was 
decided  that  a  fitting  punishment  for  the  animal  was  for  us  to  eat  it.  The 
flesh  had  a  peculiar  gamy  flavor,  different  from  anything  I  have  ever 
tasted.  Adults  are  about  36  inches  in  total  length,  with  tail  about  9 
inches.  They  may  weigh  as  much  as  20  pounds.  The  quills  are  overlaid 
by  long  guard  hairs,  and  have  short  hairs  mingled  with  them,  and  are 
everywhere  on  the  animal  except  the  nose.  They  are  very  loosely  held  to 
the  skin  and  pull  out  readily  when  the  points  enter  some  foreign  body 
such  as  a  dog's  nose,  for  they  are  barbed  and  once  they  have  penetrated 
are  difficult  to  extract. 

MARMOTS    OR    WOODCHUCKS. 

Once  we  thought  there  was  but  one  species  of  Marmot  in  Colorado, 
but  an  examination  of  series  of  specimens  has  resulted  in  the  separation 
of  our  marmots  into  three  forms,  all  subspecies  of  the  Yellow-bellied  Mar- 
mot, Mnrmota  flaviventer.  They  are  the  Park  Marmot,  M.  f.  luteola,  War- 
ren's Marmot,  M.  f.  \\arreni,  and  the  Dusky  Marmot,  M.  f.  obscura.  Mr. 


No.    16.      Western   Woodchuck,    Marmotu    flnvivonter;    half    grown    young. 
— 25 — 


J.  D.  Figgins  has  described  a  fourth,  Campion's  Marmot,  M.  f.  campion! . 
The  Dusky  Marmot  is  largest  and  darkest.  Marmots  are  of  various  shades 
of  brown,  with  more  or  less  black  hairs  and  with  white  markings  about 
the  face.  The  total  length  is  two  feet,  more  or  less,  and  the  tail  is  8  or  9 
inches  long,  including  the  hair.  In  Colorado,  as  elsewhere,  the  vernacular 
names  are  Woodchuck  and  Groundhog.  The  range  in  altitude  inhabited 
by  these  animals  is  considerable,  as  I  have  taken  them  in  the  White  River 
country  below  7,000  feet,  and  they  reach  the  summits  of  the  highest 
mountains,  being  reported  from  the  top  of  Long's  Peak. 

Marmots  make  their  homes  in  a  variety  of  situations,  sometimes  dig- 
ging their  burrows  in  the  earth  on  the  open  hillsides,  but  more  often,  I 
think,  preferring  to  live  about  the  slide  rock,  in  which,  or  under  which, 
they  can  excavate  their  homes,  and  which  affords  a  refuge  from  their 
enemies.  Here  they  lie  on  top  of  rocks  which  command  a  good  view  of 
the  surrounding  country,  and  sleep  in  the  sun,  uttering  a  sharp  whistle  of 
alarm  when  anyone  comes  in  sight.  The  food  is  grass  and  presumably 
other  plants.  No  stores  are  laid  up  for  the  winter,  for  that  season  is  spent 
in  hibernation,  which  begins  usually  in  October.  At  that  time  the  animals 
are  very  fat.  The  young,  four  to  eight  in  number,  are  born  in  late  spring 
or  early  summer,  and  may  be  seen  out  of  the  holes  the  last  of  June  or  early 
in  July. 

PRAIRIE  DOGS. 

Prairie  Dogs  are  such  familiar  animals  to  most  Coloradoans  that  it 
seems  somewhat  absurd  to  try  to  describe  them  in  a  publication  of  this 
sort.  We  are  all  acquainted  with  these  chunky  little  animals,  which  sit 
on  the  mounds  by  the  holes,  ready  to  pop  out  of  sight  at  the  least  indica- 
tion of  danger.  However,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that  there  are 


No.    17.      Adult     Plains     Prairie     "Dos,    Cynomys    liidovicianus;    in    winter 
pelage.     Photograph   by   Clark  Blickensderfer. 


— 2G— 


I'our  species  and  subspecies  of  these  animals  in  Colorado,  as  follows:  the 
Plains  Prairie  Dog,  Cynomys  ludovicianus;  the  White-tailed  Prairie  Dog, 
(.'.  leucums;  Gunnison's  Prairie  Dog,  C.  gunnisoni;  and  the  Zuni  Prairie 
Dog,  C.  gunuisoni  y.uniciisis.  The  first  named  is  the  prairie  dog  of  the 
plains  region  east  of  the  foothills,  and  is  the  species  which  lives  in  the 
largest  colonies  or  towns.  The  others  are  found  in  the  large  mountain 
parks,  and  in  the  open  spaces  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  but  never 
living  in  such  large  towns  as  the  preceding.  The  total  length  of  an  adult 
is  from  13  to  14  inches,  of  which  the  tail  occupies  2.5  to  3  inches.  The 
color  varies,  naturally,  in  the  different  species,  but  is  some  shade  of  brown, 
with  a  certain  number  of  black  hairs  intermingled.  The  Plains  species 
has  a  black-tipped  tail;  the  others  have  tails  with  white  tips.  The  breed- 
ing season  is  in  the  spring,  and  the  young  are  large  enough  to  come  out 
of  the  holes  some  time  in  May  or  early  June.  The  Plains  Prairie  Dog  does 
not  hibernate,  though  it  may,  in  severe  winter  weather,  remain  under- 
ground for  a  few  days.  The  other  species,  through  most  of  their  range  at 
least,  probably  spend  the  greater  portion  of  the  cold  weather  in  hiberna- 
tion, but  they  have  at  times  been  seen  out  in  midwinter  in  cold  weather. 
These  animals  are  of  much  economic  importance  because  of  their 
destructive  habits.  When  living  on  uncultivated  lands  they  eat  the  grass 
and  other  vegetation,  consuming  what  would  otherwise  feed  many  cattle 
or  sheep.  When  near  farms  they  do  great  damage  to  crops  of  many  sorts. 
Much  work  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  destroying  them,  and  by  concerted 
action  of  the  landowners  of  a  region  good  results  can  be  obtained  and  the 
pests  kept  under  control.  It  is  hardly  needful  to  say  that  the  good  old 
story  of  the  prairie  dog,  owl  and  rattlesnake  living  in  the  same  hole  is  a 
myth.  The  two  latter  animals  are  likely  to  live  on  the  prairie  dogs  rather 
than  with  them.  The  snakes,  if  not  the  owls,  certainly  eat  the  young 
ones.  Eagles  and  various  hawks,  to  say  nothing  of  coyotes  and  badgers, 
also  prey  on  the  prairie  dogs.  It  is  not  true  that  the  dogs  dig  deep  holes 
to  water.  Their  moisture  is  obtained  from  the  vegetation  they  eat. 

CONY. 

To  meet  these  curious  and  interesting  little  cousins  of  the  rabbits  one 
has  to  seek  the  higher  elevations  and  the  slide  rock,  especially  the  latter, 
lor  sometimes  the  animals  follow  an  unusually  attractive  rock  slide  down 
to  a  comparatively  low  elevation.  Cony  is  the  name  by  which  they  are 
universally  known  through  our  mountains.  "Pika"  is  a  book  name  of 
whose  derivation  I  am  ignorant,  and  Sir  John  Richardson,  in  the  'Fauna 
Boreali-Americana,  calls  them  the  "Little  Chief  Hare".  They  are  really 
very  close  relations  of  the  rabbits,  and  no  kin  to  the  cony  of  the  Bible 
except  as  belonging  to  the  class  Mammalia.  Colorado  has  two  forms — 
the  Colorado  Cony,  Ochotona  saxatilis,  and  Figgins's  Cony,  O.  s.  figginsi. 

These  animals  are  generally  distributed  through  the  mountains  at  the 
higher  altitudes,  ranging  usually  from  about  9,000  feet  almost  to  the  sum- 
mits of  the  highest  peaks,  provided  always  that  they  have  their  favorite 
slide  rock  to  live  in,  for  they  are  seldom  found  away  from  it.  Here  they 
find  innumerable  cracks  and  crevices  in  which  to  make  their  homes,  and  in 
which  they  can  take  refuge  from  their  enemies.  Their  food  consists  of 
plants  of  all  sorts,  which  they  gather  from  the  hillsides  by  their  homes, 
and  which  they  store  as  "hay"  for  the  winter.  Sometimes  they  make  real 
little  haycocks,  in  a  typical  rounded  heap,  or  again  the  hay  is  stored  under 
Hat  rocks.  One  of  their  stacks  found  in  New  Mexico  contained  thirty- 
lour  different  kinds  of  plants.  The  plants  are  gathered  by  biting  off  the 
stems  and  then,  raking  the  ends  of  several  into  his  mouth,  the  little  hay- 
maker starts  for  his  stack  dragging  his  plunder  beside  him. 

—27— 


Conies  are  diurnal  in  habit,  and  when  not  feeding  or  making  hay, 
spend  much  of  their  time  sunning  themselves  on  rocks  near  their  nests. 
They  have  a  high-pitched,  squeaky  note,  quite  penetrating,  and  uttered  in 


saxatilis. 


a  spasmodic  fashion.  I  always  think  it  sounds  as  though  someone  had 
squeezed  the  animal  suddenly  as  one  would  a  toy,  making  it  squeak. 
Nelson  renders  it  by  the  syllables  "eh-eh".  They  have  three  or  four  young 
in  a  litter,  born  early  in  the  summer.  In  winter  they  probably  move  about 
in  the  slide  rock,  and  possibly  just  on  top  of  it,  under  the  snow,  but  it  must 
be  confessed  that  little  is  known  about  their  winter  habits.  The  coat  is 
rather  long  and  soft,  very  similar  in  texture  to  that  of  a  rabbit,  and  in 
color  is  a  mixture  of  brown,  gray  and  black.  The  total  length  is  about 
eight  jnches,  with  the  tail  practically  wanting. 

RABBITS. 

Our  rabbits  divide  naturally  into  two  groups,  one  including  the  Jack 
Rabbits  and  the  Snowshoe  Rabbit,  the  other  the  Cottontails.  The  former 
are  really  Hares,  belonging  to  the  genus  Lepus,  and  their  young  are  born 
fully  furred  and  with  their  eyes  open;  the  latter  belong  to  the  genus 
Sylvilagus,  and  their  young  are  born  naked  and  blind,  as  is  the  case  with 
our  domestic  rabbits.  The  Jack  Rabbits  divide  again  into  two  groups,  the 
White-tails  and  Black-tails,  and  are  found  over  most  of  the  open  parts  of 
the  state.  The  Black-tails  are  confined  to  the  lower  elevations,  while  the 
White-tails  range  even  to  above  timberline  on  some  of  our  highest  moun- 
tains. There  are  two  subspecies  of  each,  the  White-tailed  Jack  Rabbit, 
L.  toAvnsendi  campanius,  and  the  Western  White-tailed  Jack  Rabbit,  L. 
townsendi  townsendi;  the  Great  Plains  Jack  Rabbit,  L.  californicus  me- 
lanotis,  and  the  Texas  Jack  Rabbit,  L.  c.  texianus. 

Living  as  they  do  in  the  open,  the  Jack  Rabbits  make  their  forms 
under  protecting  weeds  or  low  bushes,  usually,  I  think,  where  they  can 

— 28 — 


have  a  good  outlook  for  possible  enemies.      Two  or  more  litters  are  born 
in  a  season,  from  three  to  five  or  six  in  a  litter. 

Though  belonging  to  the  same 
genus  as  the  Jack  Rabbits,  the  Snow- 
shoe  Rabbit  (lj.  bairdi)  has  a  very 
different  habitat,  living  in  the  woods 
or  about  brushy  places  in  the  moun- 
tains, but  never  in  the  open.  It 
changes  its  coat  according  to  the  sea- 
son, becoming  white  in  winter.  The 
White-tailed  Jacks  in  the  snowier 
parts  of  their  range  do  the  same,  but 
do  not  become  so  completely  white  as 
the  Snowshoes.  This  change  takes 
place  in  October,  and  the  return  to 
the  brown  summer  coat  begins  in 
April.  The  comparatively  enormous 
hindfeet,  with  wide-spreading  toes,  make  excellent  snowshoes,  holding'!  up 
the  animal  in  the  snow.  The  hindfoot  is  as  long  as  that  of  the  much  larger 
Jack  Rabbit,  and  makes  a  larger  track  in  the  snow. 

COTTONTAILS. 

Colorado  is  blessed  with  five  species  and  subspecies  of  Cottontails,  as 
follows:  the  Nebraska  Cottontail,  Sylvilagiis  floridanus  similis;  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Cottontail,  S.  mittalli  pinetis;  the  Black  Hills  Cottontail,  S.  n. 
!>iaii?>ei-i;  the  Wyoming  or  Bailey's  Cottontail,  S.  auduboni  baileyi;  and 
the  Colorado  Cottontail.  S.  a.  warroni.  These  various  forms  occupy  sepa- 
rate, though  sometimes  overlapping  ranges.  The  Nebraska  Cottontail  is 
confined  to  the  northeastern  part  of  the  state,  ranging  back  toward  the 


White-tailed    Jack    Rabbit, 
:  ••;•:•••.    i-amiu-Mtri.s.      . 


No.    20.       Rocky    Mountain    Cottontail,     S.vlvilnKiiM    n.    pinetiN. 


foothills,  as  at  Arvada  and  Littleton,  and  occupying  the  country  in  com- 
mon with  the  Wyoming  Cottontail,  but  with  this  essential  difference  in 
habits — that  the  Nebraska  prefers  to  live  in  the  brush  along  the  streams, 


Younj?    Cottontails    in    nest    in    alfalfa    field.      Photograph    from 
Colorado    Agricultural    College,    through    W.    L.    Burnett. 

while  the  Wyoming  lives  on  the  more  open  prairie,  about  the  sage  and 
rabbit  brush.  In  other  respects  the  habits  of  all  these  animals  are  similar. 
They  occupy  almost  all  kinds  of  habitats,  they  live  both  in  burrows  and 
in  forms,  and  the  young  are  born  naked  and  blind  in  nests  lined  with  fur 
from  the  mothers'  breasts.  Tn  some  parts  of  the  mountains  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Cottontail  goes  nearly  to  timberline.  Ledges  of  rock  with  plenty 
of  cracks  and  holes  are  favorite  dwelling  places  for  all  the  species.  On 
the  plains  cottontails  are  often  found  about  the  prairie  dog  towns,  living 
in  abandoned  holes. 


—  30— 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

I  have  divided  the  following  brief  bibliography  into  two  parts:  The 
first  includes  publications  of  a  more  technical  character,  in  all  of  which, 
however,  will  be  found  interesting  data  on  the  habits  and  life  histories  of 
the  groups  treated.  The  second  part  includes  papers  pertaining  to  the 
economic  status  and  habits  of  the  animals: 

TECHNICAL    PAPEHS. 

Bailey,    V.      Revision    of    the    American    Voles    of    the    Genus    MIcrotus.      North 

American   Fauna  No.    17.      1900. 
Goldman,    E.    A.      Revision    of    the    Wood    Rats    of    the    Genus    Neotoma.      North 

American   Fauna  No.   31.      1910. 
Hoi  lister,   N.     A  Systematic   Synopsis   of  the   Mu.skrats.     North  American   Fauna 

No.   32.      1911. 
Hollister,    N.     A    Systematic    Account    of    the     Prairie    DORS.     North    American 

Fauna  No.   40.      1916. 
Hollister.   N.     A  Systematic   Account   of   the   Grasshopper  Mice.     Proceedings   U. 

S.   National   Museum.      Vol.   47,    Pp.   427-489.      1914. 
Howell,  A.  H.     Revision  of  the  Skunks  of  the  Genus  (him- ha   (Mcphitift).     North 

American  Fauna  No.  20.      1901. 
Howell,  A.  H.     Revision  of  the  Skunks  of  the  Genus  SpiloKsilo.     North  American 

Fauna  No.  26.      1906. 
Howell,   A.   H.      Revision   of   the   American   Harvest   Mice.      (Genus    Ilhelthrodon- 

t oni<k  .s.i     North  American  Fauna  No.  36.     1914. 
Howell,  A.  H.     Revision  of  the  American  Marmots.     North  American  Fauna  No. 

37.      1915. 
Jackson,   H.   H.   T.     A   Review   of  the  American   Moles.     North   American    Fauna 

No.  38.      1915. 
Nelson,  E.  W.     The  Rabbits  of  North  America.     North  American  Fauna.     No.  29. 

1909. 
Osgood,   W.  H.      Revision  of  the   Pocket  Mice  of  the  Genus  PeroKnnthu*.     North 

American  Fauna  No.  18.      1900. 
Osgood,    W.    H.      Revision    of    the    North    American    Genus    PeroanyncuH.      No*rth 

American   Fauna  No.   28.      1909. 

Preble,  E.  A.  Revision  of  the  Jumping  Mice  of  the  Genus  Zaputt.  North  Amer- 
ican Fauna  No.  15.  1899. 

OTIIEIl    PAPEKS. 

P.urnett,  W.  L.  Report  on  Prairie  Dog  Investigations  in  Colorado.  Agricultural 
College  Circular  8.  1913. 

P.urnett,  W.  L.  The  Prairie  Dog  Situation  in  Colorado.  Agricultural  College 
Circular  17.  1915. 

P.urnett.  W.  L,.  Rodents  of  Colorado  in  Their  Economic  Relations.  Agricul- 
tural College  Circular  25.  1918. 

Burnett,  \V.  L.  Meadow  Mice  (.Microtux).  Agricultural  College  Circular  18. 
1916. 

Lantz,  D.  K.  Meadow  Mice  in  Relation  to  Agriculture.  Year  P.ook  of  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  1905. 

Lantz,  D.  K.  An  Economic  Study  of  Field  Mice  (Genus  Microtus).  Biological 
Survey  Bulletin  No.  31.  1907. 

Lantz,  D.  E.  The  Rabbit  as  a  Farm  and  Orchard  Pest.  Year  Book  of  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  1907. 

Lantz,  D.  E.  The  Muskrat.  Farmers'  Bulletin  396,  Department  of  Agriculture. 
1910. 

Lantz,  D.  E.  The  Muskrat  as  a  Fur  Bearer.  Farmers'  Bulletin  869,  Department 
of  Agriculture.  1917. 

Lantz.  D.  E.  Economic  Value  of  North  American  Skunks.  Farmers'  Bulletin 
587,  Department  of  Agriculture.  1914. 

Lantz,  D.  E.  Field  Mice  as  Farm  and  Orchard  Pests.  Farmers'  Bulletin  587. 
Department  of  Agriculture.  1915. 

Merriam.  C.  H.  The  Prairie  Dog  of  the  Great  Plains.  Year  Book  of  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture'.  1901. 

Warren,  E.   R.     The  Mammals  of  Colorado.     Putnam,  New  York.      1910. 


—  31  — 


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